Fitschen:An analysis of the World Cup with the focus being on Germany. Our coaching staff have already analysed the World Cup in great detail. The result of which can be seen in the new structure to the women’s training sessions. One thing is for certain: Only together will we be able to develop the players and ensure that the national side as well as the clubs continue to play at the top level. That’s what we all want. We’re all on the same boat.
DFB.de: How do you see the plans for 2016?
Fitschen: We already have plans in place up until the Olympics. In March 2016 we will have an eleven-day period. Further details will be given later. In April we will continue on with European Championship qualification against Turkey and a home game against Croatia. After the season we will have a three week break for our players and then on the 20th June we will begin our five week preparation for the Olympics.
DFB.de: What preparation do you have planned?
Fitschen: We have four things on the schedule including fitness, tactics, technical drills and the friendlies. We will then pick the squads and fly to Brazil on the 27th July. The tournament begins on the 3rd August.
DFB.de: It will be the last tournament for coach Silvia Neid. She will be then be succeeded Steffi Jones. Is this noticeable already in the camp?
Fritschen: From day to day you don’t really think about it, and it doesn’t make a difference to the current work we are doing with her. It will probably kick in after her last game. I hope that that last game will be in the final, winning the medal.
Doris Fitschen, team manager of the Germany women’s national side spoke to DFB.de ahead of the international friendly against England in Duisburg on Thursday (18:00 CET) about this calendar year, the planning ahead of the Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and the resignations of Célia Sasic and Nadine Angerer.
DFB.de: The last international game of the year for the women’s national side will soon be upon us, time to look back on the year gone by. What’s your impression?
Doris Fitschen:It’s been a successful year for us. Finishing as one of the top four teams at the World Cup was a good achievement. It meant we qualified for the Olympic games in Rio, and we’re also dominating our European qualification group. Four wins from four games – scoring 22 goals and not conceding a single one isn’t bad at all. After the World Cup the team underwent a small change, which worked well in my opinion.
DFB.de: A change which began with the resignations of Célia Sasic and Nadine Angerer. On Thursday, they will both receive an official farewell from the team – will that be an emotional moment for you as well?
Fitschen: Definitely. I’ve spent a lot of time with both of them. I was actually still playing when Nadine started, that’s quite a big deal for me. It will certainly be very emotional on Thursday. Nadine and Célia are amazing people. They didn’t just often make the difference on the pitch to decide games, they also took on responsibility off the pitch, always stayed positive and contributed tremendously to the team spirit. They will certainly leave their mark on this team and they will be missed.
DFB.de: Who will replace them?
Fitschen: They’re tough boots to fill, but we have enough young players who can grow into the kind of players Nadine and Célia were. Almuth Schult comes to mind – she's been here for a while and has played a lot of games. She’s a reliable number one, a great person to have in a team. Unfortunately she is injured at the moment. Melanie Leupolz could also become this kind of a player. There are a number of experienced players in the squad who now need to take on more responsibility as leaders within the team. Saskia Bartusiak springs to mind there. She has taken on her new role as captain well and led by example: A true leader for whom the rest of the team have a lot of respect. But also Anja Mittag, Lena Goeßling, Annike Kahn and Simone Laudehr will also be taking on greater responsibilities.
DFB.de: Let’s have a look ahead to the period following this game: On the 1st December, the managers’ conference for the managers of the Allianz women’s Bundesliga. What will be the topics there?
Fitschen:An analysis of the World Cup with the focus being on Germany. Our coaching staff have already analysed the World Cup in great detail. The result of which can be seen in the new structure to the women’s training sessions. One thing is for certain: Only together will we be able to develop the players and ensure that the national side as well as the clubs continue to play at the top level. That’s what we all want. We’re all on the same boat.
DFB.de: How do you see the plans for 2016?
Fitschen: We already have plans in place up until the Olympics. In March 2016 we will have an eleven-day period. Further details will be given later. In April we will continue on with European Championship qualification against Turkey and a home game against Croatia. After the season we will have a three week break for our players and then on the 20th June we will begin our five week preparation for the Olympics.
DFB.de: What preparation do you have planned?
Fitschen: We have four things on the schedule including fitness, tactics, technical drills and the friendlies. We will then pick the squads and fly to Brazil on the 27th July. The tournament begins on the 3rd August.
DFB.de: It will be the last tournament for coach Silvia Neid. She will be then be succeeded Steffi Jones. Is this noticeable already in the camp?
Fritschen: From day to day you don’t really think about it, and it doesn’t make a difference to the current work we are doing with her. It will probably kick in after her last game. I hope that that last game will be in the final, winning the medal.
